Another Maiden
by YamiNoEve
Summary: All of them were revived. All. By a mysterious girl who possessed such a tremendous power. But, who is she? *I don't own the chara's from DL, I only own the chara's I created. *This is my first fanfic, please R&R! '
1. Chapter 1

**The Reunion and Alhazard  
**

"You are the one with a truly nice heart. Your heart desires nothing but peace. You're willing to die, just to see this world in peace. Now, the world is in peace. You deserve a chance to live in the world you desire. The Ultimate Reborn Magic, revive this person."

...

Erwin walked to Liana's house with Hein. Liana welcomed them. They chatted as if they hadn't seen for years. "It's kind of strange. I thought we're already dead when we fought monsters before," said Liana.

"Yeah. You, me, Hein, Lana, Cherie, Keith, Scott, Lester and Jessica. All of us were dead, before. But, how come we're here?" Erwin was confused.

"It's a miracle, perhaps," said Hein.

"If I'm not mistaken, back then, Leon, Laird, Vargas, Imelda, Egbert and Bernhardt were with us too. Well, they survived when they foughtus before the Rayguard Empire fall. And, they died just like us," said Erwin.

"It was a strange lady who revived us," said Lana all of sudden, who also appeared all of sudden.

"Sister? Don't surprise us like that," said Liana.

"Before I reopen my eyes, I heard a voice, a lady's voice. She said something like this, 'The Ultimate Reborn Magic, revive this person'," said Lana.

"Reborn Magic? That's the magic that Lady Jessica knew!" exclaimed Hein.

"Yeah," said Erwin. Suddenly, they heard a shout outside Liana's house. "What's that? Let's take a look!" They looked outside and saw a group of armed men attacking the villagers. "Ah! We must drive them away!"

"Let's go! Liana, Lana, escort the villagers. We'll drive the bandits away!" said Hein.

"Okay. Let's go, Liana!" Lana and Liana escort the villagers to safety. Erwin and Hein managed to drive the bandits away.

**...**

Erwin and his friends decided to pay Cherie a visit, in case she was revived just like them. Coincidentally, Scott, Jessica and Lester were there too. They were revived as well. "So, who revived us?" asked Cherie.

"I don't know. But it seems like all of us were revived. And, that person used Reborn. She must be a strong mage," said Jessica.

"Do you think that, Bernhardt and the others were revived too?" asked Liana.

"I don't know. But, if that person can revive us and more people easily, then reviving them must be a piece of cake for her."

"Hmm. But, I think, for now, we should celebrate our reunion!" said Lester happily. The party celebrated their reunion with the whole Kalxath citizens.

Meanwhile, the general of the Blue Dragon Knight along with his best friend and general of the Blazing Dragon Army made their way to Jessica's house. As Erwin and his friends arrived there, they were shocked to see them.

"Leon!" Lana was happy to see Leon.

"What are you doing here? I'm not letting you to hurt Lady Jessica!" said Lester.

"We come in peace. There's no point for us to fight. We're just curious. How can we still alive? I thought we're dead," said Leon.

"We're also curious about that," said Jessica.

"Leon said that he heard a woman's voice saying that we'll be revived to live in this peaceful world and then he barely saw a blonde-haired woman with golden eyes glancing at him and left," explained Laird.

"We come here in case you knew something," said Vargas.

"Sorry. We don't know anything," said Keith.

"I see. Well then, we'd better take our leave now," said Leon.

"Wait. Where are you going now?" asked Erwin.

"We're going for an aimless journey for now," said Leon. The three of them left.

...

"No!"

"What's wrong, Jessica?" asked Liana

"I can feel a strong, dark power. Yes, no doubt, it's Alhazard!"

"What do you mean?" asked Lana

"Someone stole Alhazard!" said Jessica.

"Does it mean that, the continent is in danger again?" asked Cherie.

"Yes. I'm sure, the thief will come for Liana and Lana."

"Then, we must protect them!" said Lester.

"Liana, for now, you must not stay here. Erwin, please protect Liana and, find Langrisser. Lana, you must remain with me for now. I'm sorry to split you both, but it's the only way for now," said Jessica.

"It's okay. We understand," said Lana.

"Well then, I guess I'll go for another journey," said Erwin.

"We'll go with you!" said Cherie. So, Erwin, Hein, Liana, Cherie and Keith set for another journey, to find Langrisser and to protect Liana.


	2. Chapter 2

**Lady Talia**

"What happened to this place? It looks like, a war had broken out," said Vargas.

"Look at those bodies; the women and children had to die in war. How sad. The world is not in peace yet," said Leon sadly.

"Look at that woman! She's unhurt. Perhaps, she's still alive." Laird pointed to a young lady.

"She's alive. Let's take her with us. She must be terribly traumatized due to this war," said Leon. The party left with the young lady. They decided to set camp near a lake since they hadn't found any village.

That night, the young lady woke up. She went outside her camp. She saw Leon sitting by the lake, watching the full moon. "Excuse me. Who are you? Did you take me here?"

Leon turned around. "You've awaken, I see. We found you at the battlefield, so we decided to take you with us and treat you."

"We?"

"Me and my companions. My name is Leon. I'm travelling with my friends, Laird and Vargas. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Talia. I'm the daughter of the ruler of the place that had turned into a battlefield."

"I see. Well, Lady Talia, please rest for now. Being on a battlefield must be a horrible experience for you. Don't worry. You'll be safe with us."

Talia looked disturbed. "O...okay."

...

"We'll stay in this village for now."

"Okay Erwin," said Liana.

"Boy I'm tired!" said Hein.

"Erwin?"

Erwin turned around and saw Rohga with his sister, Sonya. "Rohga!"

"It's been a while. Wait, I thought you're already died," said Rohga.

"Brother, same goes to us. Someone revived us," said Sonya.

"Did you die too?" asked Liana.

"We died a few days after we heard about your death," said Rohga.

"So, all of us were revived by this mystery woman, huh?" said Hein.

"I think so," said Sonya.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" asked Rohga.

"Alhazard was stolen and we must find Langrisser now. Jessica wanted me to protect Liana as well," said Erwin.

"So, travelling again, huh? I'm joining too," said Rohga.

"Count me in!" said Sonya.

"So, that make us stronger!" said Cherie.

Next day, the party continued their journey. As they were getting near Langrisser's location, they came across Leon and his companions. "Leon? Who's that lady behind you?" asked Erwin.

"This is Lady Talia. We found her alone on a battlefield, so we decided to take her with us. So, what are you doing here?" asked Leon.

"Alhazard was stolen, and now, we must get Langrisser," said Liana.

"I see. So, another war is going to break out, huh?" said Vargas. "What do you say, Leon?"

"The one who revived us wishes to see all of us live in a peaceful world. So, we will join you," said Leon.

"That's great!" said Cherie.

"Thank you, General Leon, General Vargas and Colonel Laird," said Keith.

"No, we're no longer generals nor colonel," said Vargas.

"We're just ordinary people now," said Laird.

"Okay then, Lord Leon, Lord Vargas and Lord Laird...?" said Hein.

"Uh, it sounds awkward, but that's better," said Laird.

"Let's get going. We've no time to spare now. It's possible that the thief will try to steal Langrisser as well," said Leon.

So, the party went to look for Langrisser.

**...**

"So, the Ruins of Baldea, again," said Erwin.

"I think I can go get it!" said Cherie.

"Good point. Cherie can simply fly there," said Hein.

"HALT!"

"Wh...what's that?!" asked Liana.

"I knew it that the sorceress Jessica will knew about the loss of Alhazard and she will definitely send the Descendants of Light to get Langrisser. We'll get it before you!" A strange man showed up.

"Olga..." Talia whispered that the others could hardly hear her.

"Who are you?" asked Laird.

"I'm the Assistant Commander of the Yellow Mage Army, Olga! I'll never let you get Langrisser!" said Olga. An army appeared.

"It's an ambush!" exclaimed Vargas.

"So, the Yellow Mage Army stole Alhazard," said Leon.

"Exactly," said Olga proudly.

"Cherie! Go get Langrisser! Keith, cover her! We'll hold the enemy here!" ordered Erwin. Cherie and Keith flew to get Langrisser.

"Be careful. They got ballistae," said Talia.

"I see. Guys, aim for the ballistae!" said Erwin. The troop attacked the enemy.

"Laird, please take care of Lady Talia. Don't let the enemy get near her," said Leon.

"I'll protect her with my life." Leon and Vargas aided Erwin and his companions to fight Olga and his troop. Talia tried her best so that Olga wouldn't see her. Any enemy who got near them would be slain by Laird.

"I got it!" exclaimed Cherie excitedly.

"Damn it! Men, retreat for now!" Olga retreated.

**...**

"We managed to get Langrisser. Let's go to Jessica," said Erwin.

"Let's go!" said Hein.

Talia looked disturbed. "What's wrong, Lady Talia?" asked Leon.

"I... I'm going back. I left something at my house."

"In that case, I shall accompany you," said Leon.

"I'll be fine on my own."

"I can't let a woman going to a dangerous place on her own. Those who attacked your place might be there."

"Okay. Do as you wish, Lord Leon."

"Just call me Leon. I'm not used to that kind of formality."

"In that case, Leon, call me Talia."

"Laird, Vargas, I'm leaving with Talia. You should go with Erwin."

"No problem. Make sure you come back safe and sound, friend," said Vargas.

"I surely will."

So, they split paths. Leon and Talia headed for Talia's hometown while the others left for Jessica.

...

"Things haven't changed even a little bit," said Talia.

"May I ask what happened to this place? It's okay if you can't answer it."

"This place is actually a small town, but we considered it as a village. It's an unnamed town. The people who lived here were known as Ancient Mage tribe. We studied ancient magic and applied them in our daily life. But one day, when I was still a little kid, this place was attacked and destroyed. Everyone except me died. I wandered around the continent, trying to escape from those who were after me. Sometimes, there will be some people offering to take me in. They seemed to be nice, but their real intent was the same; they wanted to hand me to my pursuers. For more than 10 years, I was betrayed. So then, I decided to resurrect this place. I lived here with the townspeople and my family, again. But then, my pursuers attacked this place again, and all but me were killed. And then, you came here."

"Wait a minute. Does it mean that, you're the one who revived us?"

"Yes."

"That's why I feel like I've seen you somewhere. Who's your pursuers?"

"The Yellow Mage Army. Uh, just, don't tell the others. I... don't quite trust people nowadays since I was always betrayed. Anyway, let's go to my house." The two of them went to Talia's house. Talia took a strange-looking staff and a sky blue robe. As they came out of the house, they were greeted by a group of men wearing yellow robe.

"Hello, Lady Talia. I see that you're still alive."

"What do you want, Lord Bold?" asked Talia fiercely.

"Don't freak out, my lady. I just want to retrieve that Destruction Staff in your hand and perhaps that Ancient Robe since they'll make a good pair."

"What makes you think that I'll hand them that easily to you?"

"Tough as nails. Say, why don't you come to us? We'll make a great team. Besides, you're the princess of the Ancient Mage tribe. I'm sure you can be a great ruler with me."

"Like hell I'm going to follow you!"

"Stubborn girl. Lady Talia, this is my last offer. Come with us."

"No! Lightning!" Talia cast a type of magic to Bold and his men. She ran away.

"No one can escape from me, the Commander of Yellow Mage Army! Men, after her!" Bold's men were going after Talia until Leon blocked them.

"I can't let you harm a woman!" Leon slew them, but not to death. They retreated. He then went after Talia. He found her out of breath.

"You're safe. I thought you'll be dead in their hands."

"They can't kill me easily. Anyway, what's the Destruction Staff?" asked Leon curiously.

"This staff was said to be having the power to destroy the world. It chooses its wielder. But my parents said that it's the wielder who possesses the power, not the staff."

"I see. Let's get going." They went to see Jessica, but on their way, they met Erwin, Hein, Liana, Lana, Cherie, Keith, Scott, Rohga, Sonya and Lester. They said that they must find the Dark Rod and the Holy Rod.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Ancient Mage Tribe Princess, Lady Talia**

"Even Jessica doesn't know the location of Dark Rod and Holy Rod now," said Liana.

"So, we're really clueless now," said Lana.

"But for now, we must decide. Which rod should we go after first," said Erwin.

"In that case, go to the Ruins of Joan," said Talia all of sudden.

"Why?" asked Lester.

"The first thing you should do is prevent Alhazard's revival, so you must not let the enemy get the Dark Rod. The Dark Rod is in the Ruins of Joan now," said Talia.

"So, where's the Ruins of Joan?" asked Hein.

"I'll lead you there. Let's go. We've got no time to spare." The party began their journey to Ruins of Joan.

...

"Talia, how far is the ruins?" asked Hein.

"We'll arrive there shortly. Don't worry," said Talia.

"Don't be such a weakling, Hein!" scolded Cherie.

"I know that you're manlier than a man, but please, we've been heading to the ruins for two days!"

"T...take that back!"

"Shh! Quiet! I can feel something," said Talia.

"What is it?" asked Erwin.

"Hmm. I can sense something evil," said Lana.

"Me too," said Liana.

"Don't let your guard down," said Leon.

"I'm ready for any fight," said Vargas.

"Get down!" Suddenly, lots of arrows were shot to them.

"You shall not pass through! You will not harm the villagers!" An old man showed up.

"Err, mister, we're just simply passing through," said Talia.

"Hmm, you look familiar indeed. Who are you people?"

"We're just a bunch of travellers," said Leon.

"Oh I see. My apologies for earlier. Bandits always attack the villagers nowadays. We'll have to stay on guard all the time. I shall lead you to the village. Men, stay on guard!" The old man took Erwin and his companions to the village. "You may rest here. By the way, I'm Aaron." He left.

"He reminds me of Aaron. They even have the same name," said Cherie.

"Princess..."

"I'm fine, Keith!"

"For now, let's rest for a while. Hein looked terribly tired," said Lester.

"Yeah. I'm going to take a walk," said Liana.

"I'm going too." Lana followed Liana.

"Talia, how much further... Eh? Where's Talia?" asked Rohga.

"She vanished..." said Sonya.

...

"Sister, don't you feel anything?" asked Liana.

"About Lady Talia, right?"

"Yes. I can feel something different about her. Something powerful, yet dangerous."

"Me too. Sometimes, that feeling makes me afraid to get near her."

"I think, she's somebody. Perhaps, someone like us."

"I think so. Maybe Lady Jessica knows something."

Talia who was eavesdropping came out. "I can tell you if you want to know."

"Eh? How long have you been there?" asked Lana.

"The whole time. Your answer?"

"I want to. How about you, sister?" asked Liana. Lana just nodded.

"I'm the Ancient Mage tribe princess. I possess the power to destroy the world. I'm the last of the second phase of Maiden of Destruction."

"Maiden of Destruction?" Liana looked surprised.

"Honestly, I can destroy this El Sallia anytime. Destruction makes my lifespan longer."

"Are you with Chaos?!" asked Lana in disbelief.

"Chaos? For your information. Chaos is the second phase maidens' long life enemy."

"Then, you're with Lushiris?" asked Liana.

"I don't know. I'm not interested in Lushiris."

"Why?"

"Maidens from the first phase intent to destroy Lushiris. They even murdered the sorceress. Then, when maidens from the second phase were born, they didn't bother Lushiris at all. They just wanted to slay Chaos."

**...**

"So, this is the Ruins of Joan?" asked Rohga.

"Yes." They entered the rundown fortress which was known as Ruins of Joan.

"Why is it named so?" asked Laird.

"This is a fortress where a strange war broke out. It's all because of a woman named Joan."

"Strange war?"

"It was a war between two kingdoms. I don't know the names, but the war broke out because of Joan. That woman was said to be a demon. She came to the first kingdom to meet the king. Then, she visited the second one and met the king. Then, the war broke out here. The war lasted for 7 years, non-stop. The only reason it stopped was Joan vanished. The kings blamed each other, saying that Joan was kidnapped by one of them. They stopped fighting until Joan returned, with bloody hands and killer stare. She asked for a reason why they stopped fighting. Nobody could answer it. She demanded for another war. So, the two kingdoms fight again for another 4 years. The war resulted the fall of the first kingdom. Even the king died. Then, those who were from the second kingdom were slain, one by one. Nobody knew who did that. That's why people call it a strange war."

"What a horrible war. I wonder who that Joan woman was."

"You'll know it, sooner or later."

The party headed for Dark Rod. "This is it. Dark Rod," said Leon.

"Lana, it's yours," said Talia.

"Huh?"

"Maiden of Darkness, protector of Alhazard, wielder of Dark Rod. It's you. Your destiny. You need Dark Rod to be more powerful, to be the perfect Maiden of Darkness. With Dark Rod in your hand, most demons shall obey you. You may bring peace between humans and demons for longer and longer time."

"I see. But, aren't this world is already in peace? I mean, demons and humans seem to be better, right?"

"Yes. But, now, Alhazard was stolen. Another war might break out."

"I understand." Lana took the rod. The rod glowed.

"It responds to your inner power."

"I think, I'm feeling great power flowing inside me."

**...**

The party headed for Katie Castle, a strange-looking castle in the middle of a thick forest. According to Talia, Holy Rod was there. As they travelled, they passed through a house. It looked rather old but firm. Suddenly, Liana collapsed.

"Liana! What's wrong?! Pull yourself together!" said Erwin.

"I... I can feel... something from the house... It's strong..." said Liana.

"The house?" asked Lana.

"Yes. For some reason, I can feel that it's trying to pull us there."

"Mind investigating?" asked Keith.

"Let's go," said Erwin. The party went to the house.

Once they stepped into the house, a horde of undead creatures appeared. "You shall not enter. No one can steal the Sky Staff! We will guard it from you people!"

"Wait a second! We're not thieves! We're just investigating!" said Hein.

A black-caped man with pale skin appeared. "Hmm. We can't trust them. They seem to be a bunch of maniacs."

"Err..." Hein stammered.

Leon looked irritated. "I can believe we got caught by a bunch of undeads. And now, they're calling us maniacs?!"

"What's a maniac?" asked Rohga.

"Brother!" Sonya was shocked.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" said Laird.

"You must study more, kid," said Vargas.

"Please kindly explain why we are maniacs," said Hein.

"No explanations!" said Lester angrily.

"They'll pay..." said Keith.

"...for calling us..." Cherie continued it.

"MANIACS!" said all of them, except Rohga, Talia and Hein.

"Bring it on!" said Talia enthusiastically.

"Mages, stay at a spot where you can cast spell safely. Rohga, Keith, Lester, to the right. Cherie, Scott and I will take the centre," commanded Erwin.

"Then, we shall take the left. Laird, protect Lady Talia," said Leon.

"Err, Leon, I can fight too," said Talia.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

"Very well. Just don't get hurt."

"I won't."

They began fighting the undeads. Erwin, Scott and Cherie slew all zombies and ghosts in their way. Sometimes, Liana and Lana cast Turn Undead to nearby enemies. Hein and Sonya cast Fireball to aid Rohga, Keith and Lester since they were facing Living Armour and Dark Guard. Leon, Laird, Vargas and Talia fought with a horde of ogres. They're hard to kill, but for them, they were just a piece of cake. Leon and Laird both used Inferno Lance, which made them tougher. Vargas used Great Sword. Talia killed the ogres with the sharp blade at her staff (It's like a fusion of a staff and a lance). Now, the only one left was the black-caped man.

"Surrender, strange man! This is what you get for calling us maniacs!" threatened Erwin.

"Heh, you think I'm a weakling like them? I'm the Vampire Lord!"

Talia approached him with a smirk on her snow-white face. "If you're Vampire Lord, then I'm the Vampire Hunter!" She punched the vampire on his face, sending him flying to the wall. Everyone was stunned to see the 'crazy' Talia.

"How dare you punch me!"

"Liana, would you please handle him? He's annoying," said Lana.

"No problem. Turn Undead!" Vampire Lord vanished, well, died exactly.

"Look at the altar!" Hein pointed to the altar near the wall.

"A staff?" asked Cherie.

"I can feel strong power from it, quite similar to Dark Rod, I mean, their strengths," said Liana.

"The Sky Staff..." said Talia.

"Huh?" The others looked confused.

"It's a staff which enhances its wielder's power greatly."

"Hmm. Try to draw it," said Erwin. All of them except Leon, Laird, Vargas and Talia tried, but only Hein succeeded.

"It seems like the staff likes you, Hein," said Talia teasingly.

"Wh...what?"

"Nothing. Perhaps, it's one of the items or weapons which chooses its wielder."

"I see."

"Well then, let's continue our journey to Katie Castle," said Leon.

**...**

"So, this is Katie Castle. It looks creepy," said Hein.

"It's a creepy place though," said Talia.

"What do you mean?" asked Scott.

"A very long time ago, a woman named Katie built this castle on her own. Then, she declared 3 nearby kingdoms as hers, and she became a very cruel ruler. People called her a vampire since she would always drink the blood of those who were killed by her. Every Monday, exactly at 12 midnight, she would have 2 of her people, mostly the citizen, entertain her by fighting in the throne room until one of them die. She picked the 2 people randomly. When one of them died, she would grant one of the winner's wish and then killed him or her. After that, she would drink his or her blood. For the dead bodies, she would feed them to her people. Even after her death for an unknown reason, people who passed through this place could hear somebody fighting in the throne room. And whoever entered the throne room, they would be enraged and killed each other."

"It's really creepy," said Cherie.

"But, why would the Holy Rod be here?" asked Liana.

"I don't know. Perhaps, after you resealed Alhazard and Langrisser, these rods were sent to random places so that no one will break the seal again."

"I see. But, why would it be sent to a place like this. It's scary though," said Lana.

"Because Lushiris was an idiot..."

"Talia, did you just... badmouthed Lushiris?" asked Erwin in disbelief.

"Eh? I did? Haha, I guess I did," Talia giggled. "Anyway, let's go."

"We're entering?" asked Hein.

"Of course you idiot!" scolded Cherie.

"But don't let your guard down," said Leon.

"Most importantly, don't let your heart weakened by the evil aura here," said Talia. The party entered the castle.

"Anyone sees the rod?" asked Lana.

"No."

"Why don't we search in the throne room?" asked Laird.

"Good idea," said Vargas.

"Wait!"

"What's wrong Hein?" asked Scott.

"How about the, uh, fighting spirit?"

"So, what's wrong with it?" asked Lester.

"I'm afraid we might fight each other."

Talia sighed. "Okay then. Those with weak heart shouldn't enter the throne room." Everyone walked to the room, except Hein. Hein sighed and followed them.

"Ugh, this room smelled like crap!" said Lester.

"Of course. Katie never cleaned this room from blood," said Talia calmly.

Suddenly, Lana held her head in pain. "Lana, what's wrong?!" asked Erwin in anxiety.

"I... I... I must..." she got up. "...kill you guys..." She tried to attack Liana, but Talia blocked her. Suddenly, Scott and Cherie became like Lana.

"Everyone, find the Holy Rod and destroy the fighting souls now! I'll hold them here!" said Talia.

"But..." Liana hesitated.

"Now!" They explored the throne room and found Holy Rod on the wall behind the throne. "Liana, use your power with Holy Rod!"

"Eh? But, how?"

"Just focus on destroying the fighting souls."

"I'll try." Liana focussed and managed to snap Lana, Scott and Cherie out of their rage.

"What happened?" asked Lana.

"You were controlled by the fighting souls. Don't worry. It's over now," said Talia. Then, she told the same thing she told Lana to Liana.

**...**

The party headed for Jessica. As they were getting near, Talia broke the silence. "Umm, I think, I'm leaving now."

"But, why? You've helped us a lot. I'm sure Jessica would like to meet you," said Liana.

"I'm leaving for my own reason. Goodbye, for now. May we meet again." Talia left. She forbade anyone from following her. They went to Jessica's house.

"Welcome back. I see that you've gotten Holy Rod, Dark Rod and even Sky Staff," Jessica greeted them.

"It's all thanks to Lady Talia. But she's already left," said Erwin.

"Lady Talia?"

"Yes. She's a woman with quite long blonde hair and golden eyes. She carries a strange-looking staff on her back and she wears a sky blue robe," explained Hein.

"How did that staff look like?"

"It's like a fusion of staff and lance. It has sharp blade and some claw-like thing which was quite round. There're five jewels on each side of the blade, so ten in total," said Cherie.

"So, you travelled with one quite dangerous woman, I see."

"What do you mean?" asked Scott.

"That Lady Talia, she's the Maiden of Destruction."

"Maiden of Destruction? Never heard of that," said Keith.

"Lady Jessica used to fight some of them in the past," said Lester.

"Wait a second. Are you saying that there're more outside there?" asked Cherie.

"No. Just one. When one dies, another one will be born. The first maiden I fought was the fourth maiden, named Katie, a cruel woman who fed on blood."

"That one, Talia told us before! We found Holy Staff in Katie's castle," said Hein.

"Umm, actually, Talia told us that she's the Maiden of Destruction," said Liana and Lana.

"What's that actually?" asked Lester.

"Maiden of Destruction is a woman who was born with extreme power which was said to be able to destroy the world. Yes, I used to fight them. I fought Katie, and I barely won. She had lived for 179 years old and I ended all of her cruelty by killing her. But after that, another one was born. The fifth one, she almost sank the continent until I stopped her. We fought for 10 days, non-stop until she made 2 volcanoes erupt to destroy Kalxath. But she failed since Lushiris herself stopped her. Because of that, she killed me and tried to kill Lushiris, but she failed and died. The next one did the same thing. She killed me, who was newly reborn, and tried to kill Lushiris. She failed, so she did other horrible things. She destroyed Kalxath and caused two kingdoms fight each other for years. The maidens had done nothing but destruction. So, Lushiris forbade the birth of those maidens, which means their parents must kill the new-born maiden. But none of them did it because the power of destruction protected them until their 'true self' woke up. Those maidens must not live. We must kill Talia, for the sake of this whole world."

"I can't believe it. But, she helped us a lot!" said Erwin.

"Yeah. She deserves to live. Perhaps, she's different," said Rohga.

"All of them were same," said Jessica.

"You don't know anything about Lady Talia. We know her more than you people," said Leon.

"And you don't know anything about Maiden of Destruction."

"Maybe we don't know about it. But she's not evil at all," said Laird.

"You kids can't rely on the past forever," said Vargas.

"We're leaving. We should have left with her before." The three of them turned back and walked away. "Oh, by the way, Talia revived us."

"Leon! Wait!" Lana called Leon, but he ignored her.

"Nothing can be done. By the way, I received this letter this morning." Jessica showed them a letter.

'Sorry to say, but, since you let go of the maiden, she'll eventually become our weapon. You should prepare for destruction. She'll summon Chaos for us and make us the ruler of this world. I can't believe Jessica the sorceress can be this idiot. But, thanks to your idiocy, the maiden will act according to our wish.'

"Who sent it?" asked Erwin.

"I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Elven Tribe and Talia's Trust  
**

"So, where are we going now?" asked Cherie.

"We'll be going to a place where the Ancient Mage tribe reside," said Jessica.

"Why?"

"We need to access Ancient Mage Library, and it can be found there."

"Why must we access the library?" asked Lester.

"We must get to know more about our enemy. Since they are interested in Talia, I'm sure they had something to do with the previous ones."

"I see."

"Halt!"

"Who's there?!" asked Erwin furiously.

"I see that you want to go to Talia's place. For your information, that place was destroyed."

"What do you mean?" asked Jessica.

"We, the Yellow Mage Army destroyed that place!"

"Wait! I remember you! You're Olga!" said Cherie.

"Yes I am. Well, I can't let you go any further. I must get Lady Talia to Bold."

Suddenly, they felt as if they couldn't stand up properly. "Unstable dimension! We're entering another dimension!" shouted Jessica. All of them fainted.

...

"Ugh... Where... am... I?"

"Looks like you're awake, Liana," said Lana.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Where're the others?"

"Erwin, Hein and Scott went to look for food. Cherie, Keith, Lester and Jessica took a look around."

"Where's Olga?"

"He vanished."

Moments later, the others returned. They didn't find anything. Suddenly, they were surrounded by a group of elves. "Take them to the queen!" ordered an elf girl. They were taken to a not-so-big castle. It's more like a big house. A bigger elf woman came out.

"Who are these people, Orin?"

"They're intruders, Queen."

"Human intruders. Hmm, how can they enter our world?"

"I don't know."

An elf guy came. "Err, Queen, it's my fault. I entered the human world carelessly."

"I see. Beware. The girl there wields Holy Rod. They can easily beat elves, angels and fairies."

"Excuse me. We're not intruders," said Cherie.

"Yes you are," said the queen.

"Queen Kuna! Watch out!" Orin shouted. The queen ducked. A fire arrow was shot to her.

"Damn! I missed it!" Olga came out.

"Foolish humans. Odin!" Queen Kuna called the elf guy,

"Yes, my Queen?"

"Kill that human."

"Yes, my Queen." Odin raised his crossbow and shot Olga. Olga barely dodged it.

"Why do you want to kill me?" asked Kuna.

"It's a greeting," said Olga. Suddenly, he shouted for Talia. "Lady Talia! I know you're somewhere in this place!"

All of sudden, the ground shook. Erwin and his friends vanished followed by Olga, Kuna, Orin and Odin. They're back in human world. "Argh! This is that woman's fault!" Kuna pointed at Jessica. "You tried to teleport us, but it failed and destroyed our world!"

Jessica remained silent. Kuna tried to attack her with her magic, but Orin stopped her. "Queen, we may be the strongest mages in our world, but we're no match for Jessica the sorceress, in the human world."

"Sister Orin is right, Queen," said Odin.

"Fine!" Kuna looked at Olga. "Just now, you mentioned Lady Talia. Where's the lady?"

"She's right behind you. Just, stay there and don't move or you'll die."

The others looked behind Kuna and saw Talia pointing her staff to Kuna. "You fiend!" Odin shot an arrow to Talia, but Talia cut it with her staff. Kuna got away from Talia.

"What do you want from me?!" asked Kuna ferociously.

"I want to retrieve what you've taken from me," said Talia calmly.

"What?!"

"Don't you remember? You trespassed into Shrine of Serenity with Orin and Odin, killed the guardians and stole Orb of Truth."

"Maiden of Destruction!" Jessica attacked Talia all of sudden, but Talia pinned Jessica to the ground.

"Well, see who's here. It's Jessica the sorceress. I'm not interested in your head now since I don't want to face any embarrassment for defeating a weakling like you," teased Talia. She let Jessica go.

"You should die! All of you are just the same!" said Jessica fiercely.

"My, my, Jessica, do you have any idea about what you're talking about? I'm different from them. You only fought the maidens from the first phase, who were interested in killing both you and Lushiris. You had never fought the second phase maidens. They weren't interested in neither you nor Lushiris. They just wanted to kill Chaos. But me, I'm totally different. I didn't care about you or Lushiris. I didn't even care about Chaos. The only thing I care about was the birth of the next maiden." Talia looked at Kuna. "Now, hand me the orb. You've nothing more to protect. Your people died, your world was destroyed. You only have Orin and Odin. Just live in human world and don't disturb us. Perhaps, Lushiris will grant your wish."

Kuna glared at her. "Fine! Take it!" She threw a white orb to Talia.

"Good." Talia put the orb in the claw-like thing on her staff. "Goodbye for now, Jessica. By the way, I revived you. So, you're not weakened." She vanished.

Jessica was very upset. "Lady Jessica, are you okay?" asked Lester.

"We... we must eliminate her..."

Meanwhile, Kuna, Orin and Odin left with Olga. Bold accepted them as his ally to take over the world.

**...**

Leon, Laird and Vargas rushed to a village which was said to be attacked by bandits. At the same time, Erwin and his companions arrived there only to see dead bodies all over the place and the village burnt. They saw Talia who was sitting nearby while her staff was on her right shoulder and her right arm was resting on it. She took off her robe since it was hot. She didn't notice Erwin and the others. When the bandits left, she got up. Gripping her staff, she read the incantation for Ultimate Reborn. The village was restored and Talia left in pain. The others followed her, only in split path, Leon on the left, Erwin on the right. Talia walked to a nearby lake, dropping her staff and leaning against a tree. Blood flowed from her mouth and she quickly cleaned it. A figure appeared. It was a pretty woman with long white hair. She wore blood-red gown. She sighed.

"Lady Talia, is it necessary for you to wait for the village to be completely destroyed?" asked the woman.

"Shut up," said Talia angrily as she bore the pain.

"Arrogant as usual."

"No I'm not! I'm getting pissed off with you! Why must you question me whenever I use Ultimate Reborn? I already know the consequences!"

"Lady Talia, I'm just worried about you."

"Why must you worry? I'm going to die too. When the Peace Era reaches its 501st year, I'll die too. It's my fate."

"Actually, you'll die, or you will lose your ability to destroy the world."

"What do you mean?"

"If you die earlier, the next maiden will only be born on the 501st year, or she will be awake on that year. If you live longer than expected, you will only lose the power to destroy the world, which means you'll become weaker."

"Who cares? I'm still the current Maiden of Destruction. No matter what I do, people will view me as a threat. If I become a bad person, I'll live longer, but people will hate me. But if I become a nice person, I'll live shorter, but people will still hate me. So, I'd rather die earlier."

"Lady Talia, there're some people who see you as a saviour."

"One out of a million, Lady Madonna. One out of a million."

"Why have you changed, Lady Talia? Are you afraid of Jessica?"

"Me? Afraid of Jessica? Lady Madonna, that's out of question."

"Answer me."

"...a little bit. Jessica sees me as nothing but threat. I want to kill her, but if I kill her, I'll be exactly like you and the others."

"Not all, just the maidens of the first phase."

"Whatever. Now, go away! Don't disturb me! I want to rest!" Talia turned around and slept.

Madonna sighed. "You people may come out now."

Erwin and his companions along with Leon, Laird and Vargas came out. "How do you know we're here?" asked Erwin.

"I can sense you presence of course. So, what do you want to know?" asked Madonna.

"Who are you?" asked Jessica.

"I'm the first maiden. My name is Madonna. So, you're Jessica. You've built quite a reputation amongst us since you defeated the evil Katie."

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead by now?"

"I already died. I'm just watching over Lady Talia since she did lots of things that we had never ever done."

"What do you mean?" asked Leon.

"We had never used Ultimate Reborn Magic to resurrect a devastated thing. But, she did it."

"So, what's wrong with it?"

"Actually, she's been exchanging her lifespan with destruction. When a maiden destroys something, she takes away the lifespan of the destroyed thing, making her lifespan longer. But Lady Talia took away destruction and gave away her lifespan, and thus, she won't be able to live longer. She did it for such a long time and her condition is getting worse. I told her to destroy something, even a single fly would do, but she insisted. I don't know how long can she live."

"Are you saying that, Talia's going to die soon?"

"Exactly."

Talia moved slightly. She woke up. "I'm feeling better now." She stretched herself and saw Erwin and the others. She summoned a white horse, took her staff and rode the horse.

"Wait!" called Erwin.

"What?"

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"I thought you want to kill Chaos."

"I never said so."

"Oh..."

"See you soon. I'll be back when Bold's about to battle with you guys." Talia left.

**...**

Talia rode her horse, walking to nowhere. Sometimes, she would stop and turned back. She's a little bit frustrated. She stopped again and turned back with such a scary glare. "What do you want, Leon, Laird, Vargas?"

"We're just following you," said Laird.

Talia sighed heavily. "Stop following me. I told you that I don't trust people anymore."

"Whatever you say, we'll still go with you," said Leon.

"...annoying..."

They walked pass through a forest to go to a nearby village. Since it was dark, they decided to stay in the forest for the night. Talia cast a spell called 'Villa' and a nice house appeared. She entered the house. Leon, Laird and Vargas stayed outside.

...

Talia finished her dinner. She passed through the window in her room on the second floor and saw the others around the campfire. She smiled.

...

Leon heard some noises. He opened his eyes and woke Laird and Vargas up. He saw some food near them. He looked around and saw Talia feeding their horses. "Talia?"

Talia looked at him and walked towards them. "Rise and shine! It's morning already!" She paced back to her house before turning back to say, "I'm leaving in 15 minutes. Get ready."

Later, the party began travelling again. They walked until they reached a village. They decided to take a break. They entered an armoury. Suddenly, they heard a commotion outside. They went to take a look only to see the villagers being attacked by bandits. "We must drive them away!" said Leon.

"Let's go!" said Vargas. They managed to defeat the bandits.

In order to express their gratitude, the villagers invited them to stay there for the night. They stayed at a small inn. The villagers treated them as if they were the royal family. That night, Talia invited Leon, Laird and Vargas to her room. As they entered the room, they saw Talia hugging a pillow, with a smirk on her face and pillows all over the room. "Err, Talia?" asked Laird hesitantly.

"Are you okay?" asked Leon.

Talia pouted. "I just want to have some fun."

"Huh?"

She threw the pillow in her arms towards Leon and shouted, "Pillow fight!" They were pillow-fighting all the night that they hardly notice when they fell asleep.

...

"Ugh... My head... Huh? Why are they here? Oh, I remember. I invite them here for a pillow fight. Can't believe I fell off the sofa last night and fell asleep on the floor." Talia got up and looked at Leon, Laird and Vargas. She giggled. For some reason, she thought that the men looked somewhat adorable when they're fast asleep. Well, perhaps, that's what a lonely girl would think. Besides, she had never been that happy before. "I guess, trusting them would be fine." She looked at Leon closely that their noses were about to touch. Leon woke up and knocked his head with Talia's in surprise.

"Ouch! Sorry!" said Leon as he scrubbed his head.

"It's okay. It's my fault, anyway."

Leon looked at her suspiciously. "What... were you doing... exactly?"

Talia blushed and turned around. "No...nothing!"

"I see." Leon chuckled.

Talia was pissed off. She dragged the men out of her room. "Get out! We're leaving in half an hour!" Laird and Vargas were clueless. Leon sighed. Talia leaned against the door. "Trusting them wouldn't hurt..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Alhazard's Seal Was Broken!**

"Alhazard's seal's broken..."

"Huh?" Laird looked puzzled.

"I can feel it, Alhazard's power," said Talia.

"But, aren't the Dark Rod and the maidens with Jessica?" asked Leon.

"Perhaps, they were abducted," said Vargas.

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Laird.

"Head for Velzeria," said Talia.

The party headed for Velzeria. On their way, they came across Erwin and his companions. As expected, Liana, Lana and Dark Rod weren't with them. It was dark, so they decided to stay in a forest near a lake since they didn't find any village. Talia cast Villa, but it's bigger this time. She invited everyone inside, including Jessica. Talia, Leon, Laird and Vargas' rooms were on the third floor. The others' were on the first and second floor. "Let's have a meeting tonight. Around 10, after dinner," said Leon. They agreed to have meeting in the library. That night, everyone except Talia gathered in the library. "Okay. Anyone has a suggestion?" asked Leon.

"We just kill anyone in our way," said Cherie.

"What if Liana and Lana were brainwashed?" asked Hein.

"Then, we must kill Bold," said Jessica.

As they were discussing, Talia entered the library, took two books and left. The meeting ended at 11.30. As they paced to their rooms, they saw Talia reading in the living room. "Talia, aren't you sleepy?" asked Hein.

"I'm fine. You should go to bed now. We're heading for Velzeria tomorrow," said Talia gently. The others went to bed.

...

It's 2 in the morning. Leon could hardly get any sleep. He got up and headed for the kitchen to drink some fresh water. He passed through the living room and saw Talia sleeping on the couch with her book on her lap. He was thinking about waking her up, but she looked tired, so he cancelled it. He went to get a blanket and covered Talia. She opened her eyes slowly. "...Leon?"

"Ah! Sorry to wake you up."

"It's okay. Well, goodnight." She went to sleep again. Leon sighed and went back to his room.

**...**

"Okay! Everybody ready?" asked Talia.

"We're ready!" said Cherie. The party headed for Velzeria. When they reached the coast... "How are we going there... without a boat?!"

"Maybe we can borrow a boat from one of the people here," said Keith.

"Oh, realllllllly?" asked Cherie teasingly. "Who do you think is kind enough to lend us a boat to Velzeria?!"

"Sea beast, I summon thee, Giant Serpent." Talia summoned a giant serpent. She looked at the party. "Let's go." They party 'boarded' the serpent. It moved so fast.

"At this rate, we'll reach Velzeria by dusk!" said Scott.

"Well, that's a good news!" said Lester.

Erwin went to Talia who was sitting on the serpent's head. "Talia, is this the fastest she can go?"

"No."

"Why doesn't she go faster?"

"If she goes faster, you people won't be here."

"Huh? How?"

"Want me to demonstrate it?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Hang on something guys!" Talia whispered to the serpent and it went extremely fast that they felt like flying away.

"Talia! Make her slow down!" shouted Hein.

"No problem!" The serpent slowed down.

Suddenly, 2 ships appeared. "It's an ambush!" shouted Lester.

"Men! Slaughter them! Don't let any of them go!" said a mage on the first ship. She seemed to be the commander. Both ships began attacking them.

"Guys! No matter what, don't let them attack the serpent or she's going to throw us to the sea!" yelled Talia. They fought back, except Talia who was protecting the serpent. But the enemies were too large in total, so Talia made a decision. "Retreat! I'll handle them!"

"What are you going to do?" asked Jessica.

Talia leapt to the air and gave a big slash to the first enemy ship. "Ocean Blaze." The ship was caught on fire from the sea and it was destroyed. The serpent let its tail out of the water, enabling Talia to land on it. "You're next. Dark Thunder!" Talia aimed her staff to the ship and black thunder came out of Orb of Truth, thus striking the ship. "Well then, let's get going."

The others were stunned. "O...okay."

They finally reached Velzeria. Once they stepped on that island, what awaited them was another ambush led by Lana!

**...**

"Lana!" shouted Leon.

"Lady Lana, snap out of it. Alhazard is already revived. You've no use for Lord Bold anymore," said Talia.

"Shut up. I'm serving Chaos. How pathetic you people to die in Chaos' hands," teased Lana.

"In that case, I shall destroy the devil deep inside you!" Talia pointed her staff to Lana.

"It'd be an honour to kill you here, Maiden of Destruction!" said Lana as she took out her Dark Rod.

"Wait! You can't fight her. You'll kill her!" said Jessica.

"Do you have any suggestion?" asked Talia.

"Err..."

"I suggest you defeat those scums." Talia leapt towards Lana.

"Guys, maybe we should accept Talia's suggestion for now," said Erwin. They fought the monsters that aided Lana the Dark Princess. As for Talia, she stood up in front of Lana.

"What makes you think you can beat me very easily?" asked Lana.

"Trust."

"Nonsense!"

"Lana, you may not trust me now. But I trust both you and Liana. So, I'm going to save you."

"There's nothing such as trust in this world!"

"Yes there is. Now, shall we?"

"Let's go!" The two of them clashed. "Thunder!"

Talia held the attack with her right hand and threw it back to Lana. "Death Beam!" Talia shot a grey beam out of her index finger. Lana barely dodged it.

"Not bad. I summon thee, Valkyrie!" Lana summoned the Valkyrie. "Valkyrie, kill that woman!" The Valkyrie attacked Talia.

Talia blocked every single attack from her. "How annoying. Silver Star, I summon thee, Orion!"

Orion the Hunter appeared. "Yes, my lady?"

"Hunt the Valkyrie," said Talia.

"As you wish." The Orion fought with the Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie! Return now!" Lana called the Valkyrie as she was terribly injured.

"Thank you, Orion." Orion vanished. "Lana, there's no point for us in fighting like that."

"Meteor!" Lana cast Meteor spell on Talia.

Talia was hit. "How careless."

"Talia! Are you okay?!" asked Hein.

"Don't worry about me! Worry about yourself!" scolded Talia.

"You're so arrogant, Talia," said Lana.

"And you're going down, Lana." Talia got up and swept the land with her staff. "Black Ribbon!" Some black ribbon were thrown in high speed towards Lana. She was hit.

"Argh! You're so annoying!" Lana got up and cast Blast to Talia.

Talia didn't manage to dodge it. "I'm going to end this!" Talia held Destruction Staff vertically with the orb on the upper part. "Oh Flower of Destruction, gather before me and let your scent purify the spoiled serenity in the world..."

"I'm not going to lose! Dark Rod, lend me your power..."

Talia raised her staff and swung it towards Lana. "Purification Flower!"

Lana threw a dark ball towards Talia.

Talia got hit by the ball, but she ignored it. The Orb of Truth reached Lana's chest and it glowed brightly. The light made a flower shape. Blood flowed from Lana's chest and she collapsed. Talia spat out blood thanks to the attack.

"Lana! Are you okay?!" asked Jessica worriedly. "She was stabbed. You killed her!"

"Don't be ridiculous. I had to stab her so that the orb would reach her. Rest assured. She'll be fine."

"How can you say that?! You fiend!"

"You better heal her rather than badmouthing me right now." Talia glared at Jessica.

Jessica cast Heal on Lana. "Wh...what happened to me?"

"Don't worry Lana. Everything's under control for now," said Jessica.

"Liana. She's inside, under Bold's control."

"We must save her now," said Erwin.

"Let's go inside," said Lester. The party went to the place where Bold waited for them with Kuna, Orin and Odin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Olga's Death and the Maidens' Power  
**

"This place, I remember it, the place where Liana and I unseal Alhazard. Once again, we unseal it," said Lana.

"There's Lady Liana." Scott pointed at an altar where Liana who was under Bold's control waited for them.

"Welcome to your graves." Olga appeared.

"Olga..."

"Hello, Lady Talia."

"Lord Olga, why must you betray us?"

"I just simply want to surpass you, my lady."

"By betraying you own kind?!"

"My lady, after I decided to side with Lord Bold, I've given my full loyalty to the Yellow Mage Army, and as a token of appreciation for my devotion, Lord Bold, no, King Bold gave me the second highest position, the Assistant Commander. I've erased every single trace of the tribe from me and I'm no longer an Ancient Mage like you."

"What do you mean by King Bold?" asked Jessica.

"Well, you can say that Lord Bold is just like Kaiser Bernhardt, maybe. He's the commander and also the king," said Talia.

"I see."

"Lord Olga, tell me. Why do you wish to surpass me?"

"Rumours said that whoever killed the maiden, her power will become his and the next maiden will never be born and so on."

"So, you want my power and you want to end the maidens' bloodline? You don't want the maidens exist in this world?"

"Exactly."

"Shame on you, Lord Olga. You killed my parents who raised you with love and care. And now, you want to kill me, your playmate since you're still a little kid."

"It's hard for me, my lady. But I don't want to see the world destroyed by you."

"Lord Olga, I don't wish to fight you now. I'm neither a beast nor a devil. Lady Liana, I'm sorry, but please fight Olga for me. Purification Dust..." Talia blew some shiny dust toward Liana and she returned normal.

"What happened? Lady Talia?" Liana was confused.

"What have you done to her?" asked Jessica.

"I just asked for her help. I don't mind fighting Lord Bold or Kuna and her elves, but fighting Lord Olga was beyond imagination. He was a very close friend of mine before. I'm sorry, Liana."

"I, uh, I owe you one, Talia. You freed me, so I'll fight Olga for you," said Liana.

"But, you might get hurt!" said Erwin worriedly.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Thank you, Liana..." said Talia in a depressed tone.

"What an insult! I must fight a weak woman?!" said Olga angrily.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm different. I never run from battlefield and I won't give up," said Liana as she took out Holy Rod.

"I may not be an Ancient Mage like Lady Talia, but I'm a master of magician in Valour Kingdom under King Bold. And I'm a summoner too. I can summon things like Lady Talia can. Golden Star, I summon thee, Leo!" Olga summoned Leo the Lion.

"I won't give up. I summon thee, Slaepnir!" Liana summoned the horses.

"Leo, kill them!" ordered Olga. Leo attacked Liana and the Slaepnir. The Slaepnir blocked them. They counter-attacked Leo. "Not bad."

"I told you."

"In that case, Leo, return." Leo vanished. Slaepnir also vanished. "Blizzard!"

"That was close. Fireball!" Liana shot some fireballs to Olga.

Olga simply blocked the attack single-handedly. "Looks like I overestimated you, lady."

"Blast!"

"Argh!" Olga was hit.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, Lord Olga," said Talia suddenly.

"Shut up! Meteor!"

Liana was almost hit. "Tornado!"

"Argh!" Olga collapsed. "I...I can't... lose!"

"I win, Olga." Liana walked to Erwin and his companions.

Olga looked at Talia. Talia looked terribly upset. She might break down at any moment. "Lady..."

"Lord Olga, please stop."

"I'm sorry, my lady. I only wished to see you live happily without having the role of the maiden as a burden. I don't want you to be a destroyer."

"By killing me?"

"Lady, I studied Ultimate Reborn for you. I want to revive you, as a normal person. I don't want any Maiden of Destruction born again. If I kill you, I can end all of this. Of course, I will revive you back."

"Lord Olga, if you revive me, it means that you revive the bloodline of the maidens."

"What? You're saying that, there's no way to release you from you role?"

"Yes. Killing me will end it, but reviving me will restart it."

"Argh! I've wasted my life for this worthless thing..."

"Lord Olga, please speak no more!" Talia approached Olga.

"Lady Talia, forgive me. I only want to be a good friend to you. But, I turned out to be the worst man ever. I killed your family twice."

"Stop it!"

"...Lady... I'm so weak... I'm... a... weakling, right?"

"No. You're an idiot..."

"...Lady, forgive me. I... love..." Olga died.

Talia shed a tear. "Lord Olga, forgive me for not saving you. I shall avenge you, my family and my fellow mages."

"Talia, are you okay?" asked Cherie.

"I'm fine."

"He deserved our respect," said Vargas.

"He died honourably, protecting his loved ones," said Laird.

"We shall cherish him who fought for the sake of the one he loved," said Leon.

"Yeah. Anyway, shall we go in?" asked Erwin.

"We've no time to waste. Olga was my very close friend after all. His real intent was peace, but Bold used him. I shall avenge him," said Talia. The party went to Bold.

**...**

"Too late, kids!" Bold laughed followed by Kuna, Orin and Odin.

"Chaos!" shouted Jessica.

"We're too late!" said Sonya.

"No. Not yet! If we beat Bold, Kuna, Orin and Odin, we might still have a chance," said Lana.

"So, we must beat them?" asked Rohga.

"Exactly."

"In that case, leave Bold to me," said Talia.

"But..." Scott tried to stop her.

"Please... It's between me and him."

"Fine. Be careful," said Erwin.

"I will," said Talia.

"Cherie, Keith, Scott, take Orin and remember to keep out of Odin's attack range," said Erwin.

"We will. Let's go guys." Cherie, Keith and Scott went to Orin and her troops.

"Hein, Liana, Lana, Sonya, help us from distant. Rohga, Lester and I will go for Kuna. Leon, Laird and Vargas, go for Odin." They split. It's easy to beat Orin and Odin, but hard for Kuna. Still, they managed to best them.

"Lord Bold, I shall avenge my loved ones," said Talia.

"Too bad, you've weaken so badly, Lady Talia. Blast!"

"Black Hole!" Talia created a black hole which sucked Bold's attack. "Dark Water!"

Bold dodged it. "Lady, you can't beat me." They fought for half an hour until Talia cast Death Wave to Bold. "Im...impossible!"

"You lost, Lord Bold."

"Not yet. Hehehe, Chaos is here." Bold smirked.

"What?"

"The door to Chaos, I opened it. Chaos will be here, sooner or later. Hahahahahah!"

"Ah! I can feel such strong power!" said Jessica.

"Look!" Hein pointed at an altar.

"It's Chaos!" said Sonya.

"We're too late!" said Cherie.

"Guys, stand back!" said Talia. She groaned in pain.

"What are you trying to do?" asked Jessica.

"Chaos, do you know who I am?" asked Talia.

"I know that staff. You're Maiden of Destruction," said Chaos.

"Exactly. I'll kill you."

"Heh, how? The others are far stronger than you but they still couldn't kill me. How are you going to kill me in that state?"

"I'm stronger than you."

"Nonsense!" Chaos attacked Talia.

Talia couldn't dodge it. She dropped to her knee. "Ugh, it's not as painful... as exchanging life... with destruction..."

Two lights appeared and they formed two women figures. "Lady Talia."

Talia looked up. "Lady Madonna and Lady Metilla."

"Who are you people?" asked Rohga.

"I'm the first maiden, Madonna, and this is the eleventh maiden, Lady Metilla. Lady Talia, killing Chaos was one of our interests. Allow us to aid you." More lights came and 17 women appeared. "The second maiden, Lily, followed by Karen, Katie, Anne, Joan, Sophie, Maria, Star and Akino. The twelfth maiden, Nina, followed by Robin, Boa, Helen, Rika, Georgia, Mia and Anna."

"Cool! All of them are here, I suppose," said Hein.

"Actually, only our spirits. We're not as powerful as before, but we can kill Chaos nonetheless," said Metilla.

"Why must you come here? Just let me kill him," said Talia.

"My, my, Lady Talia, you can't kill Chaos in your current state," said Karen.

"Yeah. Lady Karen is right. You're hurt too much from the usage of Ultimate Reborn," said Robin.

"Besides, we, the second phase maidens had been longing to kill Chaos," said Boa.

"Lady Boa got a point there, Lady Talia my girl," said Anna.

"For some reason, they didn't seem evil," Cherie whispered to Erwin and the others.

"Now, Lady Talia, let's combine our remaining powers and kill Chaos," said Madonna.

"Fine..."

The maidens gathered behind Talia, pointing their hands to Destruction Staff. "Oh destruction power resting deep within us, allow us to use you once again. Combine our powers and lend our powers to Lady Talia. Maidens' Hope!" Destruction Staff glowed brightly.

"Oh maidens' power of destruction, aid me in killing Chaos. With our combined power, we shall kill you, Chaos! Destruction Staff, Shock!"

"Argh!" A very bright light blinded all of them. "I cannot be... defeated!"

The light disappeared. "Chaos died!" said Mia.

"We win!" said Rika.

"Not so fast, maidens..."

They turned to the speaking voice. "LUSHIRIS?!" The first phase maidens were shocked to see Lushiris before them. As Talia turned to see Lushiris, she was shot by her.

"La...lady Talia!" All of the maidens approached Talia.

"Lady, pull yourself together!" said Helen.

"Lushiris! Lady Talia never disturbed you! Why must you disturb her?!" asked Metilla ferociously.

"She must not live."

"Hey, where's the staff?" asked Joan.

"Lushiris... took it..." said Talia painfully.

"No need to worry, ladies," said Madonna. "She can't hold the staff forever."

"What do you mean?" asked Katie.

"Destruction Staff was an ordinary staff before I gave half of my soul and all of my powers to it," answered Madonna.

"I also gave all of my powers to the staff," added Metilla.

"So, we can retrieve the staff easily," said Madonna.

"Ladies, we must defeat Lushiris," said Akino.

"You cannot defeat me. You're just souls. You can't use your powers anymore," said Lushiris.

"Dark Glow..." Madonna pointed her left hand to Destruction Staff and the staff glowed with 'black' light. Lushiris was slightly injured. The staff was retrieved by Madonna.

"I thought you're strong, Lushiris since the maidens failed to kill you. Looks like I overestimated you," said Madonna.

"Lady Madonna is a very strong lady for sure," said Sophie.

"I shall finish you ladies now," said Lushiris. Lushiris casted a light spell to the maidens.

"Demon Flower, Black Parasite!" Metilla summoned a black flower which ate Lushiris' attack.

"You can still use your powers after all," said Lushiris.

"Only Lady Metilla and I since we're part of the staff," said Madonna.

"Ladies, please look after Lady Talia," said Metilla.

"So, you both want to fight me?" asked Lushiris.

"Yes," said Madonna. "I'm good at casting spells, especially Ancient Dark spells."

"And I'm good at summoning. I've mastered all kinds of ancient summons," said Metilla.

"Blast!" Lushiris cast Blast to Madonna.

"Mirror Smoke." Madonna blocked it.

"Silver Star, Hydra!" Metilla summoned Hydra the Water Snake. "Hydra, use Silver Shower!" Hydra released silver-coloured breeze from its mouth.

"Argh!" Lushiris was hit. She tried to attack Hydra, but Metilla attacked her first with Demon Spiral.

"You're such a weakling, Lushiris. No wonder Lady Talia didn't want to fight you. It's such a shame for Lady Metilla and me to kill you," said Madonna.

"I shall kill that woman!" Lushiris pointed at Talia.


	7. Chapter 7

**Jessica's Resolution**

"Lushiris, please stop!" shouted Jessica.

"Jessica?"

"I beg you, please stop. Lady Talia is not bad at all. We're still alive thanks to her. She resurrected destroyed villages and towns. She gave us a ride to Velzeria. She saved Lana. She saved us. She killed Chaos. Why can't you see that? Why can't you spare her? She's been exchanging her life with destruction!"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, Jessica."

"Please, spare her for this time."

"...very well. But next time, I won't." Lushiris disappeared.

"You're not so bad, Jessica," said Madonna. "Hey, mage boy, don't just stand there. Heal her."

"Ah, alright!" Hein helped Talia.

"Why don't you heal her?" asked Liana.

"Both of us don't know healing spell. The others can't use their powers," said Metilla.

"She'll be fine now," said Hein.

"In that case, we'll be leaving now. Take care, Lady Talia." The maidens disappeared.

The party left. They stopped near a lake and stayed there in Talia's villa.

...

Jessica walked to the lake where Talia's standing alone. Talia didn't notice her. She was standing by a table under a shady tree with a bird on her left hand. She pointed her right hand at a book on the table and the book pages flipped automatically. A bright light appeared from the book and they were transferred into a place full of books. Jessica went to Talia. "Lady, where are we?"

"Ah! Jessica, how long have you been here?"

"Just now."

"This is the Ancient Mage Library."

"I thought it's destroyed."

"Everyone said that. But the truth is this library is only accessible through books with golden looks on its cover at the back like this."

"I see. So, why are you here?"

"Katie and Joan want to see me."

"Huh?"

"Their souls can wander in my house in the village and here."

"I see."

"Why did you defend me?"

"Just to repay you. Now, we're even, right?"

"...yeah."

"Lady Talia, why is the sorceress here?" asked Katie who appeared all of sudden.

"Sorry, Lady Katie. She got here by accident."

"You must be careful. This library was built by the effort of the elders. Don't let strangers enter it anytime they want," said Joan.

"I understand. Why did you want to see me?"

"We have some news for you," said Katie.

"The first one, the Peace Era reached its 500th year," said Joan.

"The second one, the Doom Era will last for 4000 years, twice the Beginning Era."

"The third one, Opening will be born this year and she will fully awake when you lose your power or you die."

"Wait, what's an Opening?" asked Jessica.

"Opening is the first maiden for every phase, like Lady Madonna and Lady Metilla."

Katie continued. "Lady Talia, you have only two choices either to end it or to let it be."

"Only an Ending can end it," said Joan.

"I...I'll think about it later," said Talia. They left the library.

**...**

Erwin, Hein, Liana, Lana, Cherie, Keith, Leon, Laird, Vargas and Talia were sitting at the table under the tree by the lake. Lester and Jessica returned home. Rohga and Sonya returned to their village. "What are you going to do next, Talia?" asked Erwin.

"I'm going to travel around the continent, perhaps."

"Too bad..."

"What wrong Hein?"

"I was thinking about studying under your guidance."

"Hein, you're already a great magician," said Liana.

"I know. But it'll be an honour to study under a great ancient mage."

"Hmm, I don't mind actually, Hein. You just need to follow me travelling," said Talia.

"Really?!" asked Hein excitedly.

Talia nodded and smiled reassuringly.

"In that case, I want to be your student too," said Lana.

"Sure."

"Liana, I won't go home with you. Sorry."

"It's okay, sister. I guess I'll be going with Erwin, Cherie and Keith," said Liana.

"Take care, Liana."

"I will."

"So, Leon, Laird and Vargas, how about you?" asked Talia.

"I guess I'm going home. I miss Eliza and Emilia for sure," said Vargas. "Sorry to leave you guys, Leon, Laird."

"It's okay, Vargas. I'm sure Lady Eliza must be longing to see you," said Leon.

"I think we'll be going now," said Erwin. "I hope we'll be seeing again." Erwin, Liana, Cherie and Keith left.

"That leaves us. Say, how about joining me, Leon and Laird?" asked Talia.

"Eh? But, really?" asked Leon.

"Yeah."

"Very well. Are you okay with this, Laird?"

"I'm fine with this," answered Laird.

Moments later, Vargas took his leave to return to Eliza.

They remaining party continued travelling aimlessly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hein and Lana's Magic Study**

"I'm tired..." Talia, Lana, Leon and Laird turned back. "We've been walking for a week non-stop," said Hein.

"Umm, let's stay here. It's getting dark. I'll cast Villa, so stand back," said Talia.

"At last!" Hein couldn't wait to rest.

"Come in," invited Talia. The party stayed there for the night until Talia made a decision. "Let's stay here for a couple days. I have some learning to be done."

...

"Hey, Talia. What're you doing here?"

"Hi Leon. Just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"...it doesn't matter."

Hein, Lana and Laird came. "Talia, can you teach me now?"

"Sure. But Ancient Magic isn't as easy as ordinary magic. Let me show you the books of the magic." Talia magically flipped her books page and took out 10 books. "Take these books, 5 each. The spells are divided into 5 books according to its level. For example, casting Villa is quite easy, so it's in Book Two."

Hein and Lana took the books. "How many spells and summons are there?" asked Lana.

"200 spells and 100 summons. But if you're genius enough, you can combine two or more spells and make a new spell."

"That's a lot. Did you master all?" asked Hein.

"I mastered 197 spells and all summons."

"Incredible!"

"There's 100 spells and 30 summons in Book One, 40 spells and 30 summons in Book Two, 30 spells and 15 summons in Book Three, 20 spells and 15 summons in Book Four, and 10 spells and 10 summons in Book Five."

"Why is there so many spells and summons in Book One?" asked Lana.

"Most of them are used in our daily life, and very easy to master."

"So, we must read these books?" asked Hein.

"Not really, but yes. Start with Book One, go to the next table and pick any magic or summon. Read and understand it. When you're done, tell me. Now, don't disturb me. I'm trying to master the 199th spell!" Talia pushed Hein and Lana to the table next to hers.

Hein and Lana read the books. "You skipped?" asked Laird.

"I always skip. After I master this, I'll study the last magic."

"That makes 199," said Leon.

"I skip a magic from Book Two, the hidden magic. It's was created by Lady Madonna for emergency use."

"For Maidens of Destruction?"

"Correct. All maidens were required to master the magic, but I still didn't read it. Now, don't disturb me!" Talia read her book. Moments later, Hein and Lana came.

"Talia, we're done reading," said Lana.

"Which one did you pick?"

"I pick Calm Breeze," said Hein.

"I pick Rain Dance," said Lana.

The three of them walked to an area. "Okay, Hein, cast the spell."

"I'll try." Hein took deep breath and read the incantation. "Calm Breeze." A breeze blew. For some reason, the breeze flipped Talia's dress. Talia looked either mad or embarrassed. She held her dress. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! Ah! How to cancel it?" Hein tried to cancel the spell but unfortunately, he read the incantation for another magic.

Talia realized it. "Stop!" She hit Hein by pushing his book to his face and he fell down, but it's too late. Talia was hit by the magic that Hein accidentally cast, Lightning.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"Don't mention it." Talia looked annoyed. "Lana, you're next."

"O...okay." Lana made the movements for the spell. "Rain Dance." It began raining, but it only lasted for a few minutes since Lana hadn't mastered it.

"Good job, Lana. Hein, you must study more. I was thinking about having you two master Book One within two weeks."

"Two weeks?! But, isn't that too short?" asked Hein.

"It's way too long for Book One! I mastered it within one week!"

"Okay, fine. We'll do our best," said Hein.

"...What I mean is, I want to have you two to master Book One in these two weeks since we'll be staying here for a fortnight. But since you two aren't ancient mages, it'll take at least three weeks to master Book One, a month for Book Two, a month for Book Three, three and a half months for Book Four, and at least a year for Book Five."

"That long?!" asked Lana.

"Yeah."

"We'll have to stick around for almost two years," said Hein.

"I don't think so. I said AT LEAST a year for Book Five. I've been studying it for more than seven years and I haven't finished it yet. The only one who finished it in a year was Lady Metilla."

"Seven years?! How hard are the spells from Book Five?!" asked Hein.

"I can't say. But I can tell you some of the spells."

"What are they?"

"Spell 193, Purification Flower. 194, Ultimate Reborn. 196, Death Wave. 197, Ocean Blaze. 198, Thousand Element. 199, Holy Wings. 200, Destruction Staff, Shock. The 200th spell can be done by using either Destruction Staff or Sky Staff."

"How about the summons?" asked Lana.

"Summon 93, Golden Star, Leo. 94, Demon Flower, Poison Host. 97, Demon Flower, Black Parasite. 100, Maidens' Hope."

"Wait, Maidens' Hope is a summon?" asked Hein.

"Yes. It summons the maidens' souls, Lady Madonna and Lady Metilla. They will lend the user their powers through Destruction Staff."

"But, how can the other maidens do it?" asked Lana.

"It's easy. The maidens charged their powers and sent it to Destruction Staff through Lady Madonna and Lady Metilla."

"I see."

"Let's continue our study. I'll guide you this time, so make sure you won't do mistakes again, Hein."

"Okay!" said Hein.

**...**

Talia was sitting alone at the table near the lake. They decided to stay there until Hein and Lana finished their study. Leon approached her. "Hey."

"Hi Leon. What's up?"

"I have something to ask you."

"What?"

"Do you ever think about having a family?"

"Hmm, once, I guess. Why?"

"Well, umm, I... umm, actually... I..."

"Why are you stammering? Why are you blushing?"

"Uh, well, I, this ring, umm..."

"This ring? Where did you find it?"

"I found this when we fought Olga at Baldea. He probably dropped it."

"It's my mother's ring. My father gave it to her when he proposed to her."

"Is that so? Well..."

"Leon, is this... a proposal?"

"Umm, what can I say... Yes."

Talia giggled and blushed slightly. "So, you want my answer now?" She smiled. "Okay, my answer is yes."

Leon put on the ring at Talia's ring finger. They got married that day. "Congratulations, Leon, Talia!" said Hein, Lana and Laird. Lana's kind of jealous, but she's still happy for Leon.

...

"You must do it like this in order to summon Virgo."

"I see. Thank you, Talia."

"You're welcome, Lana. By the way, congratulations for mastering Book Three."

"Thank you."

"And, Hein, congratulations too."

"Thanks. I can't believe it that we mastered three books in 8 months."

Talia giggled. "That's only the beginning. Your harder training will start tomorrow. No excuse."

"Okay. Talia, did you not teach us something?" asked Lana.

"What do you mean?"

"We only mastered 169 instead of 170," said Hein.

"Shut up. That spell is not for you! Now, go away! I'm going to master Thousand Element!"

"O...okay!" Lana and Hein left. Leon and Laird laughed at them from a distant. Well, they're just at another table. Lana and Hein approached them. "Talia's going to complete her study," said Lana.

"Not yet. She has another magic to be learnt after Thousand Element," said Leon.

"What is it?" asked Hein.

"Serenity."

"Huh?"

"She just told me that. It's from Book Two."

"But, we never found it," said Lana.

"It's hidden, perhaps," said Laird.

The party looked at Talia who was casting Thousand Element. A colourful ball was produced from her right hand and it turned into a number of river-like things with different colours. They hit the 'target' which was the Destruction Staff. After all, it's invulnerable to magic. Talia approached them with a big smile. "I've successfully mastered Book Five! Thousand Element wasn't too hard."

"Well done, Talia," said Leon. "How about the one you call 'Serenity'?

"I don't know yet. But I guess I must learn it as soon as possib..."

"What's wrong? You're looking weird."

Talia looked as if she saw a ghost. She held her chest and coughed. She spat blood. "Oh no... I... must... do... it..."

"Talia!" All of them freaked out as Talia collapsed right before their eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Mastering Serenity and the Birth of Lilina**

"What happened to her actually?" asked Lana worriedly.

"I don't know. I told her not to push herself too much since she's pregnant. But I don't think that's the reason," said Leon.

A ball of light appeared. "Do you want to know what actually happened to Lady Talia?"

"Lady Madonna! What happened to Talia?" asked Hein.

"Lady Talia only has two months left."

"What?! She's going to die?!" asked Leon furiously.

"No, idiot! You see, Lady Talia will bear your baby in a month. The 501th year of the Peace Era, or to be exact is the first year of Doom Era will be three weeks after the birth of your child. So, Lady Talia only has two months more to lift the curse. But her condition worsened because of the usage of Ultimate Reborn. I'm afraid she might die earlier before the curse could be lifted."

"What do you mean by the curse?" asked Laird.

"I'm afraid I can't explain further. Please consult Lady Jessica, Lady Metilla or Lady Anna's will for more information."

"Lady Anna?"

"Lady Talia's mother."

"How are we supposed to find her will?" asked Lana.

"Her ring. I'm sorry, I have to leave now." Madonna disappeared.

"Lady Anna's will?" Hein was still confused.

"So, where's her ring?" asked Lana.

"Talia's wearing it. I'll go get it." Leon went to take Talia's ring. "So, where's the will?"

Lana took the ring and examined it. "Something's carved at the inner part of the ring. It says, 'We don't want to destroy the world. You're our only hope, Lady Talia the Peace Era Ending. We couldn't stand to wait for 4500 years more to end the curse. ...Serenity...can...it.' The last sentence was faded. I couldn't really read it."

"Wait a minute. Could it be that Serenity spell can end it?" asked Leon.

"Yes. Serenity spell, the magic to lift Maiden of Destruction curse."

All of them turned to the speaking one. "Lady Metilla?"

"In order to end it, you must fulfil lots of requirements. One of them is mastering Serenity spell."

"What are the others?" asked Hein.

"Find Purification Pearl, remove Lady Madonna's soul and power from Destruction Staff along with my power, go to Shrine of Serenity with both Ending and Opening, destroy Black Pearl, move Opening's curse to Ending and Ending casts Serenity on herself. You also require Maiden of Light, Maiden of Darkness and Lady Jessica."

"That's a lot!" exclaimed Hein.

"Yes. For now, all of you, please find Lady Jessica and Lady Liana, and then find Purification Pearl. I'll aid Lady Talia to study Serenity. You may ask more details from Lady Jessica. She used to visit Ancient Mage Library, so she has some useful information about this."

"But..." Leon hesitated.

"Please. This is for Lady Talia and the world's sake."

"Leon, Talia's counting on us now. We must help her," said Lana.

"...I understand. Lady Metilla, I leave Talia in your care. Please look after her while we're gone," said Leon.

"I'll protect her with all my remaining power."

...

"Lady Talia, are you ready?"

"I'm ready, Lady Metilla."

"Tell me if you're feeling ill. If your condition worsened upon the curse lifting ceremony, we'll fail."

"I understand."

"Okay." Metilla took Talia's Book Two and flipped the pages magically until the back cover emitted light and some pages appeared before it. "There it is. The hidden pages for Serenity spell."

Talia began her study, but it didn't go right since Talia was very weak. One month later, Talia gave birth to her daughter. She named her Lilina, the name that was chosen by Leon and herself. Like the previous maidens, she acted like a 'dead' child. She didn't cry nor open her eyes. She remained quiet until she would be truly awake. Talia resumed her study until she mastered it only to hear Lilina's cry. On that very moment, Leon and the others along with Erwin, Liana, Jessica, Cherie, Keith and Lester returned. Knowing that Talia had lost her tremendous power, the party headed for Shrine of Serenity.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Great Search for Purification Pearl**

"So, you're saying that we don't have much time left?! Oh no! We must find the pearl right away! So, where is it?" asked Cherie.

"Honestly, we don't know. Lady Metilla told us to consult Jessica," said Leon.

"From what I read at the Ancient Mage Library, the Purification Pearl can be found in a cave at the beach south of Talia's hometown," said Jessica.

"Let's get going," said Erwin.

The party headed for the cave. They arrive there in two weeks. "So many pearls!" exclaimed Hein.

"Yes. And this makes our search harder," said Jessica.

"How does it look like?" asked Laird.

"Identical to an ordinary pearl. The only difference is its hardness. It's as hard as a diamond."

"So, we're in deep trouble, huh?" asked Keith.

"Indeed. Quick, we have no time to spare. We only have one month and one week left."

The party searched for the pearl for two weeks. Liana found it hidden in a larger pearl. "It's beautiful. It's crystal clear."

"Yeah. Let's go," said Lana.

The party returned to Talia's villa only to realize that Lilina's fully awake.

**-a little nuisance here-**

On their way to Talia's villa, Jessica revealed the truth about the curse.

"Maiden of Destruction is a curse?" asked Erwin.

"Yes. Lady Madonna's curse because of her hatred to the world."

"What happened to her?" asked Liana.

"When Lady Madonna was born, the elders said that Madonna had such strong aura which brings lots and lots of misfortune. So, she was banished from her village."

"You must choose either to kill her or to throw her away," said one of the elders.

"But, she's my child also," said Madonna's mother.

"She brings bad luck!" said the other one. "She didn't even act like a normal baby. She didn't cry even once!"

"...fine. I throw her away." Madonna's mother put Madonna into a box and sent it adrift along the river. "Goodbye, my girl. Forgive me." At the same time, Madonna opened her eyes and began to cry.

...

"High Priest! We found a baby in a wooden box in the river!"

The high priest approached the priests. "Take her to the shrine. I wonder who threw this baby away."

The priests returned to the shrine. They took care of the baby lovingly. They named the baby 'Madonna' because they knew that the baby would grow up to be a beautiful lady.

...

"High Priest, Madonna's power had been growing tremendously."

"I see. Perhaps, that's the reason why her parents threw her away. They were afraid that her power might kill them."

As the priests were chatting, they looked at Madonna who was playing with some other priests by the river where Madonna was found. It's been eleven years since Madonna lived with them. "I believe she's an Ancient Mage."

"She's an Ancient Mage. She remembered what the elders said about her when she was born. She knew the location of her hometown. She wanted to learn Ancient Magic, but she's not able to access Ancient Mage Library."

"But we can access it using Orb of Truth, right?"

"Correct." The high priest called Madonna. "Do you wish to study Ancient Magic?"

"Yes!" answered Madonna.

"Follow me." The high priest, the priest and Madonna went into the shrine. "This room is called Purification Chamber. It is the only room in the Shrine of Serenity which is able to enhance or lower one's power by standing in that Crystal Plate."

"I see. So, Kain, where's the library?"

"You can go to the library using this orb, Madonna," said the priest.

"I want to go now, Maya."

"Okay. High Priest, how to do it?" asked Maya the priest.

"Just focus," answered Kain the high priest.

...

Maya and Madonna were in the Ancient Mage Library. Madonna took all five books and returned to Shrine of Serenity. She also made five other doors to the library through the book. She mastered all spells in two years. "Kain, Maya, I want to return to my hometown."

"I see. Well, we can't stop you. Just, be careful," said Kain.

"As soon as Lady Madonna returned to her hometown, the villagers were shocked to see two Madonnas," said Jessica.

"Huh?" Hein was confused.

"Madonna had a twin sister who looked exactly same as her. They had the same name too. The elders said that Madonna's sister was fine."

"How dare you trying to imitate me! There should be only one Madonna and that should be me, Queen Madonna!"

"Queen? Where's mother?"

"Don't call her mother with you filthy tongue! Mother died two years ago. Now, get lost! You're such an eyesore!"

"No! Let me stay! Please!"

Queen Madonna looked at Madonna in arrogance. "You don't deserve to live here, you demon! Demon Flower, Poison Host!" Madonna was caught by a big flower and she was poisoned. The guards took her away and left her to be eaten in a thick forest.

...

"...why... am I... alive?" Madonna got up. The wild animals were surrounding her. But strangely, they didn't attack her. They ran away. "I was poisoned. How can I survive?" Madonna walked aimlessly. Anywhere she went, people would chase her away because of the story spread by Queen Madonna. Some even tried to kill her. Madonna's hatred grew day by day until she arrived in the Purification Pearl cave where she made Destruction Staff and Ancient Robe out of the pearls. She also created Serenity spell there. After that, she went to every place where she was chased away and destroyed them. The last place she went was her hometown.

"You! You destroyed lots of villages and towns! You demon!" Queen Madonna was furious when she saw Madonna.

"You're the one who said I was a demon. So now, I'm 'fulfilling' your wish, my queen. Heh heh heh."

"Guards! Kill her! She's mad!"

Madonna killed most of the guards, but she was beaten by Queen Madonna and the elders. Queen Madonna ordered the villagers to dig a hole to bury Madonna alive. Everyone thought that Madonna died, but she's still alive. She gave all of her power and half of her soul to Destruction Staff. The staff protected her until she recovered with more extreme power.

One night, one of the villagers passed through Madonna's 'grave'. He saw a hand came out of the ground. It kept rising until Madonna fully revealed herself. Her clothes was tattered save for her robe. "I'm back. Heh heh heh."

The villager shouted and reported it to Queen Madonna. Madonna approached Queen Madonna's home and killed all guards and the queen. She spared the villagers though. Madonna went to Shrine of Serenity. The high priest and the priests stood before her.

"Lady Madonna, come to your sense!" said Kain the high priest.

"I hate the whole world! Everyone treated me like a demon!"

"High Priest! Orb of Truth is glowing!" said Maya.

Orb of Truth moved to Madonna and placed itself at the claw-like thing at Destruction Staff. "Orb of Truth is justice and I am justice. Anyone who opposes me shall be destroyed!"

"Priests! Help me! We must seal her power!" The priests tried to seal Madonna, but they failed. Madonna left.

"Madonna ransacked the world for more than 200 years. She was able to live longer because she destroyed lots of things. The shrine priests managed to stop her and she was executed. The shrine priests took Destruction Staff to Shrine of Serenity and sealed it in Purification Chamber along with Orb of Truth. According to what I read, Orb of Truth had sought a wielder for thousands of years," said Jessica.

"But, why did the orb chose Madonna?" asked Keith.

"Like Madonna said, Orb of Truth is justice. It will aid the one who was treated horribly, who longed for death because of his or her horrible life. Once it chose its wielder, no one can take it away other than his or her descendants, unless the wielder was killed without any descendant."

"But, Madonna was killed, right? Some other maidens were killed too. So, why did the orb still seek for the maidens?" asked Liana.

"They had children. Before Madonna died, she married a priest from Shrine of Serenity and had a child, Lily. Just like the other maidens, they bore their children before their death."

"I see. But, why did it called a curse?" asked Lester.

"Before Madonna was executed..."

"She had ransacked the whole world. She will be executed here, right in front of her house where she was born. Do you wish to say anything, Madonna?" asked the executioner.

"Heh heh heh. You may kill me, but you can't kill my descendants. I am the most fearful maiden ever, and my descendants shall bear the same name as mine, Maiden of Destruction. This curse will go on forever, unless one ends it. Go forth, my child, my descendants! With your powers, ransack the world! Show them our hatred!"

"Right after Madonna said that, Lily began to cry. The executioner killed her immediately to stop her, but it's too late. She had already cursed her bloodline. Lily was the second Maiden of Destruction. The villagers banished her, making Lily's hatred feelings grew terrifically. Same things happened to the other maidens save for most second phase maidens. Their parents cared for them and they trained them to fight Chaos instead of Lushiris."

"That's awful. Poor Lady Madonna. She was hated for nothing," said Leon sadly.

"Only the Shrine of Serenity priests treated the maidens nicely. That's why the maidens didn't disturb them. They even killed anyone who tried to harm the priests. The maidens still had some sense of humanity in their heart, but their hatred feelings were stronger. They only came to their senses after their death."

"Now I understand why the Orb of Truth chose Lady Madonna. It's justice after all."

"You know, I was murdered only once by the maidens except for Joan who killed me twice."

"Really?" asked Lester in disbelief.

"Yes. She killed me when I was newly reborned and tried to kill Lushiris. She failed. She left for two kingdoms and made them war. Years later, she destroyed Kalxath and killed me again. She returned to the Ruins of Joan, the place where the two kingdoms battled without cleaning my blood. She demanded another war until one of them lost. Then, she killed the remaining people. Joan and Katie were the cruellest maidens."

"They built quite a reputation."

"We can't blame them for all these mess. They were cruelly treated for having incredible power," said Lana.

"Yes. After spending some times with Talia, I finally understand the maidens' pains," said Jessica. "That's all what I know about the curse."

"You've given us lots of information, Jessica. Thank you," said Cherie.


	11. Chapter 11

**Goodbye Curse!**

Time to end the curse. They party headed for Shrine of Serenity along with Talia, Metilla and Lilina. Well, they didn't really need to walk since Metilla teleported them. "Here we are, the Shrine of Serenity," said Metilla.

"It's ruined," said Lana.

"Yes it is. Kuna, Orin and Odin destroyed this place. You can still end it. The curse is still removable after one week of the Opening's awakening. But unfortunately, Lady Talia lost most of her powers and her body wasn't very strong because of the side effect of the curse and the destruction she took before." They went into Purification Chamber. "Now, remove Lady Madonna's soul and power along with my power from Destruction Staff."

"How?" asked Erwin.

"Put it on Crystal Plate. Then, place Purification Pearl beside it. By the way, remove Orb of Truth from the staff."

Leon did as instructed while the others watched him. "Now what?"

"Stand back..." Talia approached the plate. She stood at the edge of the plate. She just looked at the staff with gloomy face.

"Lady Talia, why are you hesitating?" asked Metilla.

"...I love all of you. Other than Leon, Vargas and Laird, you maidens are the only ones who treated me nicely."

"If you do, please do it. We can't rest in peace because of this curse."

Talia hesitated. Madonna appeared and convinced her to resume the ceremony. "...I... I'll do it. Forgive me..."

"Good," said Madonna.

"Oh the pure Purification Pearl, with your power, please purify this Destruction Staff. Allow the sleeping soul within this staff to rest in peace." Both the staff and the pearl glowed. Then, Destruction Staff changed from black to silver. Purification Pearl turned black. "Lady Jessica, Lady Liana, Lady Lana, come here. We are required to destroy this pearl."

"We?" asked Liana.

"Yes." Talia took Destruction Staff away and put the pearl at the centre of the plate.

Jessica, Liana and Lana stood at different edges of the plate. "How should we do it?" asked Lana.

"Just like how you seal Langrisser and Alhazard," said Jessica.

"Please hurry up before the pearl go crazy," said Madonna.

Liana and Lana did the same thing when they sealed Langrisser and Alhazard. Then, Jessica and Talia used their powers to destroy the pearl. The pearl broke to pieces. Madonna and Metilla started to fade away.

"Thank you so much. You've just made us so happy!" said Metilla.

"Lady Talia, you may be weakened badly, but your spirit is very strong. Don't give up. We believe you can do it. Good luck, Lady Talia. Thank you so much!" said Madonna.

Some other lights appeared and said, "Thank you, Lady Talia!" They vanished along with Madonna and Metilla.

Talia stood up. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Goodbye, maidens."

"What actually happened?" asked Jessica.

"Lady Madonna and Lady Metilla's powers and soul aren't with Destruction Staff anymore. With their soul and powers are gone, the maidens know that the curse is about to be lifted. They don't need to be here anymore. Now, they can rest in peace. So, I won't back off. I'll resume the ceremony."

...

"Oh the great curse lifting spell, Serenity, please aid us, Opening and Ending of the maidens. Lilina, Opening of the Doom Era, your curse will be moved to me, Talia, the Ending of Peace Era. Serenity I!" Lilina glowed. She cried. "Everyone, please take Lilina and get out of this chamber. Don't ever enter this place no matter what. Don't come back for me, Leon. I'll come back for you."

"Talia..." Leon hesitated.

"Please. I can't back off now or else, the maidens will be disappointed."

"I understand." The others went out.

...

"Oh the great curse lifting spell, Serenity, please unleash your power on me. Destroy this damned curse and restore peace. For peace, for destruction, give this world another chance. We learn from destruction and try to create peace. The damned curse, Destruction Maidens, with this great spell, I shall lift you, and you won't disturb the world for eternity. Serenity II!" Talia cast Serenity on herself. As soon as she cast it, she felt as if her body was ripping. It's terribly painful. Even exchanging life with destruction wasn't as painful as this. She's dying.

...

"...Talia..."

"We're worried about her too, Leon," said Erwin.

"Just hearing her screams makes me awful," said Hein.

"She used to tell me that she's afraid to do it because her body had weakened terribly due to Ultimate Reborn."

"Only if I can do something for her..." said Lana.

"Pray for her. That's the only thing we can do now," said Jessica.

"Jessica..." Cherie was sad.

"Perhaps, Lushiris will understand. Talia's trying to restore peace. I'm pretty sure she'll understand," said Jessica.

...

Three days passed. Talia couldn't walk. She could barely move. She crawled with full effort and pain out of the Purification Chamber. She was full of blood. She saw the others waiting for her. She tried to stand up and walked towards them. "...welcome... to... Peace Era..."

The others turned around. "Talia!" Leon was relieved to see her. But she collapsed as he approached her. "Hey, stay with me!"

"Don't worry, Leon. She's exhausted. Liana, you know what to do, right?" said Jessica.

"Yes." Liana treated Talia.

"I can feel Maiden of Destruction aura no more," said Lana.

"She succeeded," said Jessica.

They were very happy as the world was saved.

**...**

Lana had been treating Talia for the whole week. Leon couldn't stop worrying about her but Laird kept convincing him. He's such a loyal friend.

"...Leon?"

"Talia? You're awake?!" Leon was delighted to see his wife gained consciousness.

"Where's Lilina?"

"She's sleeping in the cradle."

"Where're Hein, Lana and Laird?"

"We're here," said Hein.

"Where're the others?"

"They returned home."

"Talia, you ended the curse. You saved the world," said Lana.

"I did?"

"Yeah. You told us before."

"That's good."

It took 10 days for Talia to fully recover.

...

"Hein, Lana, Laird, what are you going to do now?" asked Talia.

"I'll stay with you forever. I have nowhere to go and no one to return to. Leon's my only best friend along with Talia," said Laird.

"I see. Do as you wish, Laird. We'd be very honoured to have you with us," said Leon.

"How about you, Hein and Lana? Both of you mastered most of the ancient spells. You can master the rest without my guidance since you're great mages. Besides, you deserve to live freely," said Talia.

"Talia, I wish to stay with you, my master. I know I may be some kind of nuisance, but I grew to love this kind of life. Furthermore, I love Lilina, just like you love her, just like Leon loves her, just like I love my sister, Liana. I want to care for her with you," said Lana.

"Lana, I'm touched to hear that from you..."

"I too wish to stay with you. I want to master ancient magic under my master! And, I want to see Lilina grows up to be as pretty and kind as her mother and as brave and honourable as her father. I want to stay with you forever!" said Hein. Lana nodded as she wanted to stay forever as well.

"...I'm so lucky... I have such nice family and friends. The maidens had always wanted to be loved, but they were hated and hated. ...Please stay here, to honour my ancestors, to fulfil their only wish. They only wanted to be loved," said Talia.

They hugged, really, the BIG HUG!


	12. Chapter Finale

**Peace Era**

~Erwin~

Erwin's aimless journeys earned him lots of money. At last, he returned to Liana's place. He married Liana afterwards.

~Liana~

Liana's orphanage was renovated since there's too much orphans there. It's all thanks to Erwin's donation. The latter got married and lived happily together.

~Cherie~

Cherie kept living her boring life as a princess. She always skipped her study, much to Keith's 'anger'...

~Keith~

Keith kept teaching the princess of Kalxath about war strategy, even though she always skipped. Poor Keith...

~Rohga~

Rohga lived as a very fearful mercenary at his village. He managed to keep his village in peace.

~Sonya~

Sonya lived happily with her brother and villagers. She helped her brother in keeping the village in peace.

~Lester~

Lester's service ended as Jessica told him to live life as he wanted. He sailed across the sea, remembering the sorceress.

~Jessica~

Jessica lived peacefully thanks to Talia's effort. She managed to convince Lushiris about Talia. She wanted to learn Ultimate Reborn, but she couldn't find the master of the ancient magic.

~Vargas~

Vargas left the battlefield to live with his wife, Eliza and his daughter, Emilia. He cared for them so much. He protected them from any harm. Sometimes, they would visit Leon and the others. Later, he moved to Forever Empire along with Eliza and Emilia. He returned to the world of army as he was given the position of Forever Blazing Army general.

~Lana~

Lana mastered all types of summons except Maidens' Hope. She also mastered four out of five books excluding Serenity spell as it vanished. Her achievement made Talia very proud of her. Lana continued living with Talia as she cared for both Talia and Lilina. Her devotion earned her a quite large territory near Hein's including the devastated Ancient Mage village which was rebuilt. Later, she was known as Ancient Guardian.

~Hein~

Hein's determination and hard work made him able to master all types of magic including Sky Staff, Shock, the Sky Staff version of Destruction Staff, Shock and also all types of summon except Maidens' Hope. He didn't learn Serenity though. He helped Leon, Talia, Laird and Lana maintaining peace. He helped Talia to restore Shrine of Serenity so that the surviving priests could return there safely. The shrine priests called him Ancient Disciple and he was rewarded the shrine and its nearby territory for his hard work by Talia and Leon. He had been teaching magic to Emilia as requested by Vargas.

~Laird~

Laird's devotion to Leon touched both Leon and Talia. They rewarded him big, great Valour Kingdom. The citizens didn't quite accept him at first since Bold was defeated by the party, but his superb governing won the heart of them, earning him the epithet King of Governing. Laird continued to aid Leon and Talia in order to maintain peace.

~Lilina~

Lilina grew up to be a great warrior. She turned out to be just like Hein's prediction. She studied summons under Lana instead of her mother as Talia wanted Lana to be a master of ancient summons, replacing her someday. Realizing that she's not very good at magic, Lilina became a sword master instead. Lilina befriended Emilia who grew up to be as beautiful and gentle as Eliza. They fought side by side always, much to their parents' pride. She was later known as Maiden of Peace.

~Leon~

After the curse ended, Leon and Talia restored peace to a number of nations, making the nations under them. He unified the nations into an empire and became the king. He ruled the empire superbly and the empire achieved prosperity it had never gotten before. He himself always went out of the palace with Talia, Lilina, Laird, Lana, Hein, Emilia and Vargas to prevent any blood-spilling. The people of the empire saw him as The Legendary Blue Knight King, symbolizing both his previous position in the Rayguard Empire and his current position in his empire. He later named the empire Forever Empire, resembling the Peace Era that would never end as long as people appreciate what they achieved now. The empire's name was agreed by everyone.

~Talia~

The Maiden of Destruction title remained unchanged. Talia did despise it, but she loved it more. She didn't want to erase it as it was the only memory she had with her ancestors. The Destruction Staff was no longer Destruction Staff. It had no powers anymore. However, the Shrine of Serenity priests said that the staff enhanced the wielder's power just like the Sky Staff did. Talia renamed the staff to Serenity Staff. With the combination of the staff and Orb of Truth, she was able to maintain peace. Years later, her power fully recovered. She discovered a secret page in the Maiden of Destruction History book saying that the maidens' power would be restored eventually. Even though her power was restored, her health was not very good. Lana always kept an eye on her in case she got sick. People somewhat fear her power, but her kindness opened people's eyes. They realized that Maidens of Destruction desired nothing but love. They called the lady Prosperity Queen. Talia didn't say anything about it though. She missed her childhood friend, Olga. One day, a man went to see her, claiming that he was the newly reborned Olga. It was Lushiris who let him live a new life. Lushiris knew about Talia, so she returned Olga to her as a reward. Talia got along better and better with Lushiris. Leon was very delighted to see Talia. They lived happily and peacefully, worrying nothing about war or destruction.


End file.
